Artessa Alliance 3rd Biennial
Opening Reception, Thursday, September 18, 2025, 6-8 pm
September 14 – October 10, 2025.
Cheltenham Center for the Arts
439 Ashbourne Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012
Inspired by Wendell Berry’s poem of the same name, “The Peace of Wild Things” explores the intersection of nature, tranquility, and the human spirit. The exhibition showcases a diverse and vibrant collection of works by members of Artessa Alliance, a collaborative of Philadelphia women artists.
Highlights of the exhibition include a meditative installation focused on resilience and transformation, as well as works inspired by the captivating forms of human life and the natural world—encompassing animals, plants, and non-living elements of ecosystems and the environment —that encourage viewers to take a closer look at the world around them. Discover introspective and innovative approaches to photography, mixed and emerging media, alongside traditional works that enhance the appeal of this diverse exhibition. Each piece invites viewers to reflect on the restorative power of both explicit and imagined wild places, as well as the sense of calm they offer amid life’s chaos.
The Opening Reception is free and open to the public, offering the attendees the opportunity to meet the artists, enjoy light refreshments, and experience an evening that promises an inspiring atmosphere for art lovers, collectors, and anyone seeking a moment of peace through the creative process. We hope this exhibition provides visitors with a space to pause and rediscover the solace found in the wild.
Gallery Hours- Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm, or by appointment.
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
